Recently introduced in the United States and Europe, Taura Natural Ingredients’ Mini’s™ are real fruit pieces as tiny as a grain of quinoa that enable food manufacturers to add the benefits of real fruit to applications where it has not before been possible.
Health-conscious consumers are on the look-out for more-indulgent products with fewer calories. Increasingly, consumers are turning to snacks for the on-the-go convenience, which then lends the question: healthy or indulgent?
But why does a snack have to be healthy or indulgent? Why can’t it be both?
Product developers have taken giant strides to improve the nutrition of many products on retail shelves, including snacks. Reducing sugar and sodium, as well as adding fiber, protein, whole grains, vitamins/minerals or other nutrients has become commonplace, especially in functional foods and other health-positioned products.
The availability of small, real fruit pieces allows formulators to add fruit to bakery and confectionery applications such as ultra-thin biscuits and premium chocolate treats.
The Mini’s fruit pieces can also be used as toppings on donuts and muffins, as inclusions in fruit and nut mixes or as fresh additions to frozen dairy beverages and desserts. In addition, the small size and the consistency of the Mini’s pieces means that they travel easily through production equipment such as depositor nozzles and rollers, offering exceptional distribution.
The pieces contain high fruit content with no artificial colors or preservatives, making them suitable for clean label applications. They won’t burn, bleed or discolor during baking, and they have a water activity of 0.35 to 0.50 to suit both dry and moist applications.